The Hercules Ice Hockey Apparel Sponsored Solway Sharks took to the ice this weekend for their final two matches of the 2023/2024 season.
The Sharks would start the weekend off in Leeds against the league leading Knights. Just
under 6 minutes into the game the Knights would get on the board through a Noah McMullin goal on the powerplay. It wouldn’t take long for the Sharks to respond as Lewis Young found the back of the net after some nice vision from Craig Peacock. Just over a minute later the Sharks would strike again after a nice individual effort from Peacock. However, the Sharks 2-1 lead would soon disappear after Kieran Brown was able to sneak one past netminder Calum Hepburn. The teams would head into the third period all tied up. The third period would prove to be an entertaining one as Matt Haywood would give the Knights a lead early into the start of the period. It would take less than a minute for the Sharks to find a response when Kian Shevlin ripped a shot off a faceoff from the blueline that found the top corner.
With Shevlins first pro goal, the Sharks were all tied up again. Unfortunately the Knights
would stop the momentum of the Sharks with goals from Matt Barron and Jake Witkowski.
Down by a pair of goals and in search of a comeback, the Sharks would pull netminder
Calum Hepburn. Mac Howlett took advantage of the open net and put the game out of reach for the Sharks.
Final score 6-3 in favour of the Leeds Knights.
Saturday would mark the last game of the season for the Sharks as they returned to home
ice to take on the Hull Seahawks.
The Sharks faithful fan base showed once again their amazing support as a record breaking
1120 fans packed the Shark Tank for one final time this season.This match would also mark
a big milestone for Dumfries own Ross Murray as he dressed in his 400th and final game for the club. After some opening faceoff ceremonies the game was underway. Unfortunately for the Sharks it would be a very lopsided start to the game as it was 4-0 Hull heading into the first intermission.
Determined to give the crowd a better showing, the Sharks would come out in the second period on a mission. John Dunbar would get the Sharks started after accepting a Ross Connolly feed and finding the top corner of the net. The Sharks would continue their momentum after Nolan Gardiner blasted a shot past Seahawks netminder Jordan McLaughlin. The Seahawks would have an answer not long after when Jones would get a tip on a Nathan Salem shot. Nolan Gardiner would take a John Dunbar pass and make no mistake at the end of a powerplay scoring his 50th goal of the season. It would be a 6-3 lead for Hull heading into the final period. Logan Reid would get some more NIHL experience in the nets for the Sharks in the final 5 minutes of the third period.
Despite an honest third period effort from the Sharks they would fall short losing to the Hull Seahawks 8-3.
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